To get a Fortnum & Mason hamper as a gift for parents

[NotJustACigar]

As this year has been so rubbish I'm thinking of really splashing out and treating my parents to a Fortnum & Mason hamper in the £100 price range (which is a lot for us). However looking at trustpilot the reviews are surprisingly bad!
uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.fortnumandmason.com

Have you ordered one recently and did it go ok? I want to customise the hamper by choosing what to put in it and adding the hamper option when I check out but can't figure out how to do this... Any ideas?

@D4rwin

Betty' s hampers are quite nice. We often get sent them.

I want the £500 one!

If its just a hamper you want Aldi do them.
I know it doesn't sound luxurious but I have arranged for a vegan hamper for a family member who I won't be seeing anytime soon and a chocolate one for another family member.
Very good prices and not full of stuff most people will never use.

It's such a lazy gift. If you want to make a thoughtful hamper, then source locally made products, not mass produced pre packaged corporate gifts.

(For anyone that does want a F&M hamper, Barclays send them when you make a complaint.)

How do your parents feel about so-called “aspirational” brands in general? If I received an F&M hamper I’d just feel disappointed that my daughter had been suckered by the name into paying over the odds and wasting her money on me!

Unless you really value the name, they're terrible value for money. On the last thread about F&M Hampers, I costed up the £100 one, using the most expensive items I could find in Waitrose including £20 for a bottle of wine and got to about £60 for wine, tea, chocolates, jam, Christmas pudding and biscuits.

Yes it may look nice, but unless your parents really want a £40 wicker basket, you could put something together yourself for half that amount. Many department stores, craft shops, supermarkets etc sell presentation baskets and packaging and then you could buy the things to put in from Waitrose, M&S, Booths or a nice deli and it would be just as nice, if not more so and cost a lot less than a F&M hamper.

I’ve had several F&M hampers and have always been delighted

This year I have bought one from Daylesford...the Pimlico Hamper

Have a look at the selection from there

What you get for your money is truly shocking, compared to what you could buy in M&S for similar quality (in terms of taste etc.)
What you're paying for is the hamper itself, which I would personally keep forever as a piece of decor. And the branding.
So, it depends whether your parents are the sort who would truly appreciate the F&M brand and want to keep the hamper on display somewhere.
Otherwise I'd just go absolute NUTS in M&S and buy a plain hamper to put everything in!
HTH

Try Butler and Cartwright. I got my parents a hamper from them last year and it was lovely. You can customise the contents

I am treating my ancient Ps to a F&M hamper this year.

However I am a bot worried as I got myself their "taste of F&M" hamper for £60 and was disappointed mostly with the quality of the little hamper. It was wonky and poorly made but is still OK to hold my shampoos in the bathroom. The contents were tinie weenie but I expected that for the price.

Don't make your own, they always look naff!

Daylesford do a wonderful hamper at christmas.
F&M would also be a top choice - I don't think you can beat them and I am always thrilled whenever I have been given one. The baskets if nothing else are so useful.

I would do my own a personal hampe to send. Spending this much on a hamper because of the name is such a waste.

mouse It is isn't the name, people usually choose them for the quality.

@Hayeahnobut

(For anyone that does want a F&M hamper, Barclays send them when you make a complaint.)

going to have to get a Barclays card purely to complain

I thought the 'snowed in' and 'christmas morning' hampers are beautiful this year - also 'sparkle and smoked salmon' from Daylesford. Particularly if you are not seeing your parents this christmas, you will have provided christmas breakfast and fizz for them on christmas day - very thoughtful.

They come with the most amazing packaging as well, and the next day usually.

Wow I wish - Barclays made a huge mistake with my account a few years ago, admitted their mistake and basically said "too bad" - I never even got an apology let alone a hamper! I'll take a look at some of the hampers people have suggested - thank you!

Haven’t had an F&M hamper for a good ten years but theirs and Harrods’ stuff at least used to be surprisingly delicious. Definitely better than John Lewis or Betty’s, which are pretty much what you’d get yourself in a poshish supermarket (you know what I’m talking about) but packaged up all Christmassily.

I gave someone a collection of their marmalades as a birthday present a few months ago. They loved them. I think choosing all your own items to go into a box is best especially if you know the receivers' tastes.

There’s something lovely about recurring a fortnum and mason (or Harrods ) hamper. We’ve only ever recurved a hamper once and so enjoyed it

Go for it

Well, I went through all the options, studied the terrible reviews of Fortnum and Mason hampers and went ahead and ordered a "build your own" F&M hamper for my parents. It's a classic and something I think my mum will have wanted for years but would never buy for herself. Nothing can replace that even if the contents from some other hamper would actually be nicer in a blind taste test. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong with the order and it actually arrives.

Betty's hampers - scrummy

I’m sure it will be a lovely treat for them!

Would you consider making up your own hamper ?

Have a look at these: macknade.com/shop/hampers/best-kent-hamper-large/
A lovely small business, local produce and the hampers have been recommended in the Independent this year.

Full of expensive rubbish apart from the wine, much better to buy a hamper and fill it with your own choice you can still buy from Fortnums just pick and choose.